He was a municipal councillor in Mumbai during 1968-70 and chairman of the civic body’s standing committee in 1970. He was the Mayor of Mumbai during 1976-1977.Joshi was then elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council in 1972. After serving three terms in the Council, Joshi was elected to the Maharashtra Assembly in 1990 and was the Leader of the Opposition in the assembly during 1990-91.In the 1999 general election, Joshi won from the Mumbai North-Central Lok Sabha Constituency as a Shiv Sena candidate, and was later Union minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise. He was also a Rajya Sabha member.Apart from politics, Joshi was also an avid reader and prolific writer. He penned 15 books on various subjects while 17 books were written on him by other authors in various languages. He completed his PhD at the age of 72 on the growth of Shiv Sena.During his chief minister’s tenure, Joshi approved the construction of 50 flyovers in Mumbai. At that time, BJP’s Nitin Gadkari was in the Public Works Department. Besides, he established Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 1994. Joshi was always loyal to the Thackeray family; he worked with Balasaheb, Uddhav, and Aaditya Thackeray.Joshi also faced several controversies. He along with Balasaheb Thackeray was accused of inciting violence against Muslims in 1992-92.
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